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Welcome to the JesusDatabase - a collaborative online resource for historical Jesus research and to explore new ways of celebrating the meaning of Jesus for people today. This project was started in March 2006 and draws on earlier work going back to 2001. The site currently consists of 1,217 articles.

PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE FUNDING of this project by visiting our Support Page and making a payment. Thank you!

You may access all the pages in this project without Registration as an author/editor, but anonymous users do not have the capacity to create pages, edit existing pages or contribute to the discussion pages. You are invited to Register your own user account so that you can contribute directly to the on-going development of this project.

Please note this page is presently under construction and not all links are yet operational.

Featured News

The Jesus Database has been a project supported by the FaithFutures Foundation for many years. More recently the project has moved to its own dedicated domain to reflect its ongoing significance as a project that serves both academic and general users.

The chief investigators for the Jesus Database project have been:

Dr Gregory C. Jenks

Dr Cameron Freeman

In 2011 and 2012, Dr Cameron Freeman undertook the task of completing initial publication of all 522 items. The next step in the project is then to begin adding critical commentary and links to selected online materials. Dr Freeman has been using the completed database to test a new criterion of authenticity which may assist in determining the extent to which sayings attributed to Jesus may be taken as deriving from him, rather than from his followers or common cultural materials of the time. This results of this research will be reported in technical journal articles as well as a planned monograph by Dr Freeman.

An international panel of consultants has been formed to oversee the next stage in the development of the Jesus Database, and we thank these colleagues for their encouragement and support:

John Dominic Crossan - one of the international leaders in historical Jesus research, Crossan has shaped the research agenda in this area for much of the last 30 years. He has contributed his 522 item historical Jesus inventory as the basis for the Jesus Database, and will provide advice on future development of the project once all the data has been collected and published.

Stephen J. Patterson - Geo. H. Atkinson Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies at Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, and a leading researcher in current historical Jesus studies. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for Westar Institute and the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Jesus Seminar on Christian origins.

Mervyn Thomas Partner (Biostatistics) at Emphron Informatics Pty Ltd and will serve as a consultant for database design and web-based research collaboration.

James A. Veitch Senior Lecturer, Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University. A long-time Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he will serve as a consultant for translation and editorial policy as the Jesus Database project is brought to completion.

Further funding opportunities are also being explored, and you can make a contribution to this project via the FaithFutures Foundation Support page.

Your continued support for the project is sincerely appreciated.

Project Director: Dr Greg Jenks

Greg Jenksis Academic Dean and Lecturer in Biblical Studies at St Francis Theological College in Brisbane, Australia and an Academic Associate in School of Theology, Charles Sturt University. His particular research interests are focused on second temple Judaism and Christian origins, including historical Jesus research and Galilee in the first century of the Common Era. Current teaching areas include NT Greek, Synoptic Gospels & Acts of the Apostles, and Judaism & Early Christianity.

In addition to the Jesus Database project, Dr Jenks is involved in the following research activities:

FaithFutures

FaithFutures Foundation operated as a non-profit organization in the State of Kansas from 2001 to 2013. During that period it was also registered as a 501c3 organisation with the IRS. In addition, the Foundation was further classified as a 509a1 and 170b1A(vi) public charity within the United States. The Foundation was wound up in December 2013 and is no longer operating.

FAITHFUTURES is a registered business name owned by Gregory Charles Jenks, and is registered under Australian law. ABN: 66 595 705 410

Bethsaida Excavations Project

The Consortium for the Bethsaida Excavations Project (CBEP) brings together faculty and students from more than a dozen universities and colleges, together with volunteers from many different countries, to work on this continuing project that will celebrated its 30th consecutive year in 2016. The project offers opportunities for graduate students to pursue research related to historical questions from the Iron Age through to Early Roman times, and a number of successful doctoral projects have already been completed on the site.

Bethsaida 2016
The dates for the 2016 season are as follows:

Session 1: 22 May - 4 June (followed by a break for Shavuot/Pentecost)

Session 2: 12 - 25 June

Session 3: 26 June - 9 July

THE BIBLE AND ARCHAEOLOGY | 12 June – 8 July 2016
St George's College, Jerusalem is offering a 4 week course that includes two weeks on the Bethsaida archaeology project, based at Ginosar Holiday Village. Final details are still in preparation, but the course is expected to include 3 nights based in Nazareth after the Bethsaida program as well as a further 9 nights based at SGC in Jerusalem. Registrations are limited to 25 places, so early registration is recommended. For further information please contact the Registrar, St George's College, Jerusalem asap.

Jesus Then and Jesus Now

Looking for Jesus, Finding Ourselves

Gregory C. Jenks | Melbourne: Morning Star Publications, 2014

From the Introduction

"This collection of essays draws together some of my thoughts about Jesus of Nazareth. I hope that it will offer glimpses of Jesus then and Jesus now that are both fresh and interesting. It is not my goal to persuade you to agree with my perspective on Jesus, but I do hope that you will find that the book provokes you to think more deeply about what you know about Jesus, how you know that, and what difference it makes to the way that you choose to live your own life. Writing this book has certainly helped me to do all three.
If there is a specific audience in my mind as I prepare this manuscript for publication, it is comprised of those people whose parents or grandparents were Christians but who now find no reason to take Jesus seriously. I hope these essays manage to express something of the significance of Jesus to me while offering them fresh glimpses of a religious tradition that may yet be worth exploring."

The Once and Future Bible

An introduction to the Bible for religious progressives

Gregory C. Jenks | Eugene, OR : Wipf & Stock, 2011

A valuable resource for religious progressives, and a dedicated web site with a constantly growing set of resources for individuals and small groups.